Les Femmes Nouvelles: The Liberating Image of French Women
in Fin-de-Siecle Bicycle Advertisements
An Honors 499 Thesis
by
Kristie Couser
Thesis Advisor
Dr. Ronald Rarick
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
May 2008
Graduation Date: May 2008
Les Femmes Nouvelles: The Liberating Image of French Women
in Fin-de-Siecle Bicycle Advertisements
An Honors 499 Thesis
by
Kristie Couser
Thesis Advisor
Dr. Ronald Rarick
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana
May 2008
Graduation Date: May 2008
Abstract
.eli f;
During the fin-de-siecle, a period of political stability, rapid industrialization, and
economic prosperity in France, a burgeoning middle class emerged in Paris. In the lively capital,
Parisians enjoyed countless leisure activities, as the cultural center of Europe attracted a diverse
population of artistic, literary, and philosophical minds from around the world. Traditional
definitions of gender roles, however, limited the public activity of women to the domestic duty
of shopping for their families. Large, colorful lithographic advertisements produced by artists
were displayed amid the city streets, popularizing new consumer goods while simultaneously
helping to elevate the medium of lithography to high art status. The safety bicycle was one of the
most popular, and widely advertised, consumer products of the 1890s. In this paper, 1 examine
the representation of women in five bicycle advertisements, as men were rarely depicted in them
regardless of the bicycle frame often being a men's model. 1 heavily explore the social and
political environment of France as 1 discuss the context and interpret the intended message of the
advertisements, concluding that such images complemented feminist identities in French women,
speaking to their interests of literally moving beyond the domestic realm.
Acknowledgements
-I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Ronald Rarick, for his spirited response when 1 proposed
my thesis topic to him last fall. His enthusiasm for and commitment to my project throughout the
semester has resulted in a work of which 1 am very proud. His art historical expertise,
outstanding skill as an educator, and encouragement every semester has greatly enriched my
undergraduate experience.
-I would also like to thank Dr. Ted Wolner for being the most challenging and fascinating
professor with whom 1 have had a class here at Ball State. 1 thought 1 knew well enough how to
read, write, and critically think before 1 entered his Humanities sequence; 1 was wrong. 1 credit
the personal and intellectual growth 1 experienced in his courses as the main reason why 1
continued to pursue the Honors diploma.
The civil disaster of the Paris Commune marked the start of the Third Republic, a new
government that, according to its first president Adolphe Thiers, was the "regime that divided
least" after the humiliating defeat the French suffered in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)
(Moynahan 32). Finally, after a tumultuous century of great political instability and international
and civil conflict, the French experienced a refreshing sense of national security, enjoyed
increasing economic prosperity and a burgeoning middle class, and dabbled in social reform
under the progressive Third Republic at the fin-de-siecle (Schardt 7). This confident, expansive
spirit was most apparent in Paris, a city focused on innovation (Collins 41).
In the mid-19 th century, despite continuing political strife, Paris underwent significant
change. Under Napoleon III, the urban planner Baron Haussmann transformed the narrow
medieval streets into wider, grand boulevards that beckoned the social elite and commercial
enterprises to make appearances (Tiersten 16). Rail systems were soon introduced, affordably
transferring the lower classes from the countryside to work in the city, while simultaneously
showcasing the growing city as a competitive economic force. Paris was also the site of several
extravagant Expositions Universelles, which proved to the world that France was on the mend,
demonstrating ceaseless industrial pursuit of technological innovation and confirming the status
of Paris as the vivacious, cultural center of Europe (Moynahan 33).
A common leisure activity in this era was strolling down the grand promenades,
particularly in the evening, and enjoying the countless activities found in the city-bustling
cafes, lively cabarets, and packed dance halls. Famous entertainments, such as the Folies
Bergere and Moulin Rouge, were immortalized through the large, energetic chromolithographic
2
posters made by artists such as Jules Cheret (1836-1932) and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec (18641901). These images of Parisian leisure merged avant-garde artistic ideas and transformed the
streets themselves into a "picture gallery" (Gretton 115). Paris drew talented and curious people
from around the world, and unless they staunchly objected to the decadent lifestyles made
famous by the city, they could find community among the multiplicity of artistic, literary, and
philosophical minds that flourished there (Moynahan 45).
However, the many pursuits of the city were mainly reserved for young, privileged men
and the women they accompanied. Though society was more progressive than under earlier,
chiefly aristocratic or monarchical rule, the ideals ofthe Third Republic continued to emphasize
the differences between the sexes. The majority of people held onto the concept of "separate
spheres" for men and women, which sought primarily to keep women in domestic environs
(Silverman 73). The advent of the department store brought about the most "accessible social
arena" for women in public life and legitimized the public appearance of women because it
allowed them to fulfill their domestic duty of shopping for the home, a task inextricably tied to
nurturing the Republican family (Gretton 113; Tiersten 23).
Though thefin-de-siecle tendency of consumerism itself gave women public visibility,
one ofthe products being sold allowed them, as well as people of all ages and classes, the ability
to take to the streets as never before. By the late 1880s, the mid-century invention known as the
velocipede had been refined into the more comfortable, affordable safety bicycle (Herlihy 278).
From its debut, people were drawn to the bicycle as a curious machine, an exciting means for
3
transport, exercise, and leisure. By 1900, there was one bicycle for every 32 people in France
(Foley 159).
The bicycle had great impact on French society as a technical innovation, but for women,
the bicycle was one of the most transformative inventions of the century because it gave them
unprecedented mobility and thereby a sense ofliberation from male supervision. The nature of
the bicycle itself excited debate over women's health, sexuality, public appearance, and changing
familial and societal roles. Despite the controversy, women continued to ride. To the social
conservatives of the era, as well as women eager for liberation, the bicycle was closely tied to the
femme nouvelle, a "new woman" who had social and economic aspirations beyond the foyer
(Foley 157).
In this essay, the social and commercial environment ofthe 1890s will be considered
with particular interest in the controversial, though liberating, effect of the safety bicycle on the
lives of French women. A selection of bicycle advertisements featuring female figures will be
examined, noting the representation of women and connections to the advance of the femme
nouvelle. As a commercial product of great interest to both sexes, advertisements of the bicycle
were intended for a wide audience, though it can be seen that even images intended for men
communicated ideas of liberation to women. In addition, the array of artistic styles of Paris at
the end ofthe century will be discussed as a necessity because chromo lithographic prints were
considered an integral part of popular culture and were often collected by the pUblic.
4
Ushering in the "Golden Age"
In the chromolithographic poster {'Etendard Frant;ais (1891) [Fig. 1], the revered French
poster artist Jules Cheret (1836-1932) promotes the bicycles and tricycles available at the
Ateliers de Constructions Mecaniques of Paris by featuring his archetypalfemme de Paris
elegantly seated upon a bicycle. Wearing a stylish blue, white, and red wasp-waisted dress, she
is herself the tri-color as she carries a flag, exuding confidence with good posture and a slightly
lifted chin. Cheret is selling the "French Standard" bicycle in his characteristic, wildly
successful way; the bicycle appears to be an afterthought when compared to the strong presence
of a vivacious, colorfully rendered woman upon it.
By the 1890s, Cheret had been a well-known and prolific poster artist for nearly 30 years,
applying his mastery of the lithographic medium and innovative spirit to designing large scale,
eye-catching advertisements for the diverse, emerging industries of Paris (Abdy 9). Cheret
illustrated a wide variety of products, from medicinal throat lozenges to alcoholic beverages,
being used by stylish, buoyant people who dominated a brightly colored, painterly field (Schardt
20). His skill lay not only of creating an alluring vision offin-de-siecle life, but also in knowing
how to capture and hold the gaze ofjlfineurs, the public that strolled through the city for leisure,
through simplified imagery and dazzling handling of color (Gretton 115). Through his career in
designing over 1,200 images, Cheret was not only responsible for "rediscovering" the function
and potential of the lithographic medium, but fully realizing it in terms of commercial use and as
a legitimate art form (Schardt 19).
5
After Cheret's celebrated application of "high" art to industrial and commercial printing,
countless designers followed suit and became commercial artists as a way to earn a living (Abdy
9). The tumultuous century had culminated with a tendency to fusion; antiquity, Rococo,
Japanese woodblock prints, and medieval illuminations were all sources of illustrative style.
Cross-cultural influences and art historical references are evident in the work of two of the most
successful poster designers working in Paris, Alphons Mucha (1860-1939) and Henri ToulouseLautrec (1864-1901). The popularity of such artists and their print work, along with Cheret, was
responsible for confirming the 1890s as a "golden era" of illustration (Arwas 7).
Because of the designers' deft abilities in making an eye-catching and breathtaking
image, the public fell in love not only with the new consumer goods depicted in a poster, but
often the poster as an object. It was not uncommon for freshly pasted posters to be removed by
the passers-by who desired to decorate their homes with the work. There was also a surge in
popularity of fine art prints amongst the public, as amateurs avidly collected affordable etchings
and lithographs (Abdy 21). According to Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848-1907), the poster work of
Cheret and his contemporaries was a "welcomed change" as it rejected the tired, "pompous"
academic art of the prior era (Abdy 22). For the first time, an "intimate relationship" existed
between art and life for the average person (Schardt 16).
The Emergence of the Fliineuses
The jlaneurs of the urban environs played an essential role in popularizing the poster art
of the era-but who exactly were these dawdling pleasure-seekers and what was their
relationship to the ever-present commercial poster image?
6
In the second half of the 19th century, Paris provided its growing popUlation with
numerous leisure activities: athletic pursuits in public parks, such as the popular Bois de
Bologne, shopping one's way up and down the newly-revamped, "opulent" boulevards in the
heart of the city, or indulging in the seamier side oflife through attending one of the nightly
revues or dance halls (Silverman 16). For middle and upper class men, the streets of Paris were
avenues of endless entertainments along which they could amuse themselves for hours while
running errands; strolling soon became an activity itself (Gretton 114). Until the near end ofthe
century, however, most ofthese outdoor or public activities were not socially acceptable or
permitted for an unaccompanied woman or even a small group of women. Women were seen
chiefly as responsible for maintaining the foyer and carefully raising children to be instilled with
Republican values (Foley 131). In other words, the prevailing attitude of the Third Republic at
its inception was that a woman was limited to the "private sphere," best complementing her
husband and strengthening her country by assuming domestic roles that accentuated her
femininity.
The social and political system that essentially barred unaccompanied women from
public leisure activity also sought, as a means to retain sexual polarity, to keep them out of state
institutions, such as education (Tiers ten 23). Before the 1880s, secondary schooling did not exist
for all women; only the privileged were able to receive education beyond the state-sponsored
primary school system that had been established thirty years prior (Foley l30). Even then, a
woman's "higher" education was often limited to preparatory courses on how to maintain a
proper household and marriage, as well as child rearing (Silverman 66). By the tum ofthe
7
century, the new access women had to secondary education began to bring them steadily into the
work place, beyond the factory. The majority, however, remained limited to the private,
domestic "sphere" which was separate from that of the rational, well-defined male (Foley 136).
The attitude of men and women being of separate spheres was not only based on longstanding social conventions, but also was most pertinently advocated by the scientific
community, which saw its research as a confirmation. Increasingly, anthropometric studies and
medical studies of the human body's processes served as confirmation of male superiority via
Darwinist theory (Foley 135). One example ofthe interest in translating biological sexual
differences into the social realm was the view that gender was considered embedded in nature, as
ovaries were understood to be "passive" compared to the "active" male sperm (Foley 135). The
leaders of the Republic felt that observing the greater implications of such biological differences
was necessary to keeping social order (Silverman 73). This was taken literally to the extent that
any threats to sexual polarity, such as the femme nouvelle and the liberating nature of the bicycle,
were perceived to lead to "impotence, sterility, and race suicide" by political leaders ofthe era
(Foley 135).
Women had more freedoms in Paris than in the country, partially due to the presence of
factories and their growing female workforce. It was the city's commercial growth and large,
luxurious department stores, however, that brought about the presence of unaccompanied women
in the male dominated public sphere. Grand department stores appeared in the 1860s, shortly
after Baron Haussmann transformed the narrow city streets into magnificent boulevards (Tiersten
22). Men, and the woman they accompanied, had been casually promenading on the boulevards
8
as a social activity, but the department store quickly became solely the woman's promenade, as
consumerism was associated with the interests of women or essentially female responsibilities
(Gretton 114; Foley 156).
A woman's domain was the household, a private, interior space in which her family was
comforted by her moralistic behavior and attentiveness. She was responsible not only for
keeping the space clean and orderly, but also for embellishing it with goods and decor that
reflected her careful, "natural" aesthetic sensibilities (Tiersten 23). As mass production made
available an array of cheap consumer goods, the middle and upper classes were increasingly
driven towards ownership. Since a woman maintained the home, the purchase of commodities
became, by the end of the 19th century, a seamless extension of her domestic identity (Foley
157).
The spacious department store, which was quickly becoming a fixture of Paris'
commercial districts, initially attracted women because it catered to their domestic needs.
Offering a wide range of goods in one location, the department store provided unprecedented
convenience to the point of being called "a city within itself' (Gretton 114). The one-stop nature
ofthese stores encouraged the idea that women could shop alone because it minimized their
contact with the "brutishness ofthe streets" (Tiersten 23). In this sense, the department store
took into consideration the anxiety that men (and the Republic in general) felt about women
moving about the public sphere without supervision.
Inside this commercial setting, however, women were able to "circulate freely" in a
controlled, interior environment that welcomed their presence with stock that appealed to their
9
delicate tastes (Gretton 114). It quickly became common for groups of bourgeois women to
enter a department store as a social activity, with the intention of spending their entire day
actively shopping or looking around at wares (Tiersten 17). Advertisements portraying content
family life and other domestic activities covered the product displays, barraging the unrestrained
female shopper with the idea that consumption was her duty (Foley 157). While feminine
advertisements reaffirmed Republican values, images of women delighting in urban contexts,
appeared ever more. Such images emboldened a woman's decision to continue venturing into
the city, as they could see that their new identity was being recognized, however, these images
were still through a "less threatening," entirely commercial context (Gretton 117).
By the mid-1880s, unaccompanied women were more visible on the trains and along the
streets of Paris than ever before, largely because of the development of "commercial zones," or
shopping districts, surrounding popular stores (Tiersten 22). The growth of consumer culture
prompted women to explore a variety of competing commercial outlets on their way to the grand
department stores. The activity of shopping had become the most acceptable public activity for
women andjlanerie, or strolling for leisure, became a progressively common diversion for
women.
As middle class women were beginning to enjoy their afternoons as urbanjlaneuses, the
introduction of a physically and socially liberating product brought them back to the storefront.
When the velocipede was unveiled in the late l860s, only wealthy men and their wives had
access to the vehicle. By the early 1890s, the mass produced safety bicycle was first affordably
introduced to the middle and lower classes, quickly becoming one of the most popular consumer
10
goods ofthe era (Herlihy 278). Controversially, women took to the bicycle as never before,
challenging complex social conventions as they rode away from the home, into the city and
countryside, and out from under male supervision. For women, the bicycle was not only an
exciting mode of transportation, but was also a form of liberation.
The Democratic New Vehicle of the Republic
"This horse of wood and iron fills a void in modern life;
it responds not only to our needs but also our aspirations."
-Le Monde Illustre, Spring 1869 (Herlihy 127).
In his poster Cycles Clement (1898) [Fig. 2], Jean de Paleologue (1860-1942), known as
"Pal," delivers a message of French technological victory. A female figure dominates the image,
donning a gauzy dress and winged sandals (an attribute of Mercury), leaping forward as she
hovers above Paris along the Seine. Her left arm is extended forward, proudly displaying the
Clement safety bicycle in front of her body. Her right hand is raised triumphantly in the air as
she grasps a laurel wreath, symbolic of victory. Just below and to the right of the laurel wreath, a
stylized hat in the form of Ie coq de gaulois, a French cultural emblem, sits upon her head.
Confident in her posture as she springs towards the viewer, the woman is an allegory of French
progress, prideful in celebrating the refinement of the safety bicycle within the city of its
invention.
Pierre Michaux of Paris had finally realized the age-old dream of human powered
transport in the spring of 1867, after several Frenchmen struggled for decades with awkward,
cumbersome vehicles, such as the draisine, which were no more than wheeled "walking aides"
11
(Herlihy 75). Michaux's wHocipede, a chainless two-wheeler with pedals attached directly to the
front hub, found immediate success in Paris. However, the high cost of ownership limited its
early clientele to upper class men. Passionate about the potential ofthe new vehicle as a
common mode of transportation and exciting sport, these men often rode in groups down the city
streets to show offthe ease of use and speed ofthe bicycle (Herlihy 78). By the end of 1868, the
public was broadly aware of the velo and intrigued by the novel opportunities it offered; the
French fascination with the bicycle had officially begun.
Although costing over three months of salary to the middle class worker upon its
introduction, the velo was an alluring machine to people of all classes and of either gender, both
on practical and philosophical levels (Bouffard 9). For one, the velo did not require any special
skill to use, though one was wise to take advantage of the free riding lessons offered by many of
its manufacturers (Herlihy 81). Though initially expensive, in the long run it was cheaper than
maintaining a horse or continually paying for other transport. The velocipede was appreciated as
a fast mode of transportation to get to work that also came with the benefit of exercise. The
average cyclist was capable of traveling at eight miles per hour and could ride several miles
"with the exertion of walking one" (Herlihy 75). It enabled workers to search beyond
comfortable walking distances for better, higher paying jobs or different opportunities (Bouffard
11). Cycling was also enjoyed as a natural, relaxing experience that freed the worker from
"mechanical restraints" of their jobs and fixed train schedules (Garvey 70).
The price came down as more manufacturers produced the velo, but it was not in the
hands of the average person until near the end of the century. The most basic models could cost
12
as much as two weeks' salary for a teacher; the most personalized and luxurious bicycles could
cost up to three months' pay (Bouffard 9). The early pricing competition did, however, begin to
alleviate the only obstacle to ownership, as social status or gender themselves did not decide who
could ride.
Though only a small number of women took to the velo because of its cost, women were
greatly interested in the vehicle as a form of leisure, exercise, and independence. From the start,
they were aware that this revolutionary form or transportation could also help push for much
needed social reform (Herlihy 3). Society was quick to view and criticize early female cyclists
as scandalous, daring, and downright "outre," for participating in a masculine activity in the
public arena (Wosk 92). Sport activities had long fostered community among men, allowing
them to develop strength, confidence, and exercise in arenas offlimits to women (Foley 160).
Despite the debate over the aggressive nature of the sport of cycling, women's velo races were
organized shortly after the introduction of the vehicle. Though few in number compared to men's
races, they were popular events (Herlihy 100).
One notable race took place in Bordeaux in November 1868, drawing thousands of
curious spectators (Herlihy 135). Daringly, these women shortened their skirts, or even
controversially, wore pants, though mainly out of necessity; the velo was difficult for women to
ride without getting their long, draping skirts caught on the pedal, or even more dangerous, in the
spokes. Female and male spectators supported such races because the women were adept
cyclists, comparable to men. The riders were viewed as celebrities, championed for their
reputations as fierce competitors (Herlihy 136). Women were especially inspired by the show,
13
viewing the competitive, exciting races as signals of social progress (Wosk 92). Any foray into
the public sphere, whether shopping in the city or riding a bike, was embraced as an opportunity
for change from the monotonous, "cramped and contracted" life women had been unnaturally
living indoors (Wosk 99).
The majority of the public, particularly in the countryside where races took place, was not
ready for "real" women to ride just yet. Satirists often portrayed them as amazones who tore
through the streets on their velos, abandoning their husbands and children (Foley 160). The
images were of thick, masculine women with "obscenely" exposed legs. Another common
image of early women cyclists played off ofthe stereotype that women could not understand
machines and involved bumbling women in stylish dress awkwardly sitting upon their velos,
barely able to control the sophisticated vehicles (Wosk 95). Both examples exposed society's
anxiety about the unabashedly liberating nature of the bicycle, as it was fast, easy to use transport
that could carry a woman into the city, countryside, or wherever she chose to go, alone and
unsupervised (Garvey 69). Since women did not need the assistance or company of men in order
to ride a bicycle, female cyclists were perceived as challenging natural gender roles and
threatening the breakdown of social order (Foley 135).
Leaders of the Republic who clung to the idea of separate spheres that kept women in the
foyer, again used biological science to argue against women's use of the bicycle, stating that a
woman's "natural fragility and modesty" were reasons they should avoid riding (Foley 159).
Public controversy about women's issues, particularly sexuality, quickly developed. These major
social concerns, however, could not stop the mass production ofthe safety bicycle in the 1890s,
14
and were only heightened as the new bicycle was rigorously marketed to and purchased by eager
women.
The safety bicycle was an improved version of the velOcipede that had pedals attached to
a chain, enclosed gears, and a coaster brake (Wosk 97). In 1891, Edouard Michelin (1859-1940)
and his brother Andre (1853-1931), owners of a rubber factory, patented tires with removable
inner tubes (Bouffard 15). Formerly, the velo had solid, one-inch thick tires that were glued
directly to the rims. The safety bicycle used Michelin's pneumatic tires, soon produced by
several manufacturers, which provided a faster, more comfortable ride and reduced rolling
weight dramatically (Bouffard 16).
The greatest appeal for women, however, was the introduction of a drop frame
"feminine" model that debuted alongside the men's diamond frame safety bicycle (Garvey 69).
Instead of extending from the handle bars to just under the seat, the crossbar on the women's
frame swept down low near the pedals, allowing long skirts to drape slightly more comfortably
and retain the rider's modesty (Wosk 97). Bicycle manufacturers had witnessed the growing
trend of female cyclists in the years since the invention of the velOcipede, and though women had
been determined to own a bicycle regardless of a feminine option, the innovation confirmed in
women's minds that cycling was an appropriate leisure activity in which they felt welcome to
participate.
In 1893, a few years after the more accessible safety bicycle became popular, there were
over 130,000 of them in Paris; five years later there were one half million (Bouffard 9). The
extraordinary popUlarity of the bicycle was largely due to its new affordability, functionality, and
15
enthusiastic riders, but as a product that debuted during the "golden age" of illustration infin-desii!cfe Paris, one cannot discount the effect of its colorful advertisements.
The Safety Bicycle and les femmes de Paris
Like other competitive manufacturers of Paris' famous products, such as cosmetics,
clothing lines, fashionable accessories, and cigarettes, operators of bicycle shops established
their brand name and increased sales by plastering the streets with large chromolithographic
advertisements. All advertisements that were pasted along the city streets served a specific
purpose-to catch the gaze of the passers-by and sell them a new vision of themselves, bettered
by a product. Regardless of an artist's stylistic influences and individualized handling of color or
line, the human figure, typically female, was always predominant in the field of posters in this
period (Schardt 16).
In the case of the bicycle, a product that was purchased and used by both sexes, the
representation ofthe female figure was different from poster to poster. In general, there were two
tendencies. To capture the interest of women, especially aspiringfemmes nouvelles, fashionably
(and more rationally) dressed modern women were portrayed assertively cycling alone, often in
the city. The male gaze was caught with alluring, scantily clad female allegorical figures that
promoted the industrious, more "masculine" qualities ofthe bicycle. Both sexes, however, were
likely to find appealing aspects of the posters, as they celebrated one of the most wildly popular
consumer products of the period.
In Lucien Baylac's (1851-1913) Cycles de fa "Metropofe" (1893) [Fig. 3], afemme de
Paris expressing the same buoyant spirit as the cyclist in Cheret's f'Etendard Fran{:ais [Fig. 1] is
16
centered, riding a safety bicycle. She wears a stylish green dress with puffy shoulders and a long
skirt with ruffled hem, tied at the waist with a yellow sash that matches her stockings. Upon her
head is a large tan hat adorned with feathers and a few flowers. A few locks of her dark hair are
hanging loose, blown back as she pedals forward on her bicycle. The bicycle, a women's safety
model with pneumatic tires, is in motion, as described by Baylac's vague rendering of the spokes
and the skirt of her dress and sash fluttering behind her. She smiles radiantly, glancing off to the
side as if communicating with a person on the street. Her left ann is raised into the air with her
hand gesturing what is likely a friendly greeting to someone with whom she has made eye
contact. The backdrop is a painterly scene in pure red and blue, not indicating her environs,
though the shop being advertised is named "Metropolis Cycles," suggesting an urban locale.
Unlike the posters ofCheret [Fig. 1] and Pal [Fig. 2], Baylac's image intentionally
communicates to a female viewer. In Cheret's poster, hisfemme is dressed in contemporary
style but she is an allegory for the nation, a modem Marianne, with a tricolor dress, lapel pin,
hat, and pennant in hand. Pal's female is a purely allegorical figure, celebrating the French
achievement of the invention of the bicycle and progress of industry as she holds a men's frame
bicycle. Traditionally, female personifications of ideals, such as liberty and virtue, are found
throughout painting and sculpture. Women are handled in the same way through the lithographic
medium, though the purposes of these works are different in that they are commercial.
Representations of female archetypes and goddesses were common in the Industrial Age
as a way to impart "dignity, legitimacy, and stability" to the changing, mechanizing world that
was exploring new technologies and altering traditional lifestyles (Wosk 17). These allegories,
17
though female, are not specifically selling bicycles to women or making commentary on the
social status of women so much as they are following an artistic and philosophical tradition.
Women would have understood the emblems and enjoyed viewing the posters amid the streets,
but such advertisements did not have the same impact as images celebrating the "real," modem
woman.
In Cycles de ia "Metropoie" [Fig. 3] Baylac acquaints the viewer with a stylish woman
riding a drop-frame safety bicycle. She is riding alone and with confidence, making eye contact
and gesturing to someone as she rides. The bicycle being advertised is of the mhropoie and is
being used by a vibrantfemme de Paris, merging the interests of manufacturer with a liberating
image greatly appealing to fldneuses. Unlike Cheret's image, which was laden with Republican
symbolism, Baylac's woman is more closely a real-life femme de Paris, or at least glimpse of the
independent, public identity that French women were striving to develop at the tum of the
century.
Portraits of radiant, unaccompanied women in less restrictive clothing (like the model in
Baylac's poster [Fig. 3]) are commonly found in bicycle advertisements of the 18908. Though it
served the manufacturer's purpose of selling more products, bicycle advertisements tapped into
the contemporary debates about women's social identity, promoting the bicycle as a mode of
transport for the "new woman" (Gretton 119). The active, confident women depicted in these
posters became icons of freedom and mobility, reflecting the desire that women had to enter the
public sphere beyond the department store. Ideas of reshaping women's social identities in a
commercial context were much less threatening than efforts in the political arena, as debates for
18
and against maintaining traditional gender roles were particularly heated during the jin-de-siecle
(Gretton 116).
The new cultural image of active women pursuing public lives, however, was not just an
advertising phenomenon. Middle class women were coming to identify themselves as femmes
nouvelles, women with aspirations and expectations beyond the foyer, and were entering
educational institutions and professional careers as never before (Foley 157). Countless
representations of the femme nouvelle in journals and publications from the 1890s pair her with a
bicycle, which literally and figuratively liberated her from her traditional, interior lifestyle
(Silverman 63). Though a relatively small number of women fully assumed this new careeroriented identity prior to World War I, the signs of change were becoming quite visible with the
movement towards dress reform at the end of the century (Gretton 116).
The Controversial Call for Reform
"More violent than any revolution [the bicycle] has entered customs,
turned traditional opinions on their head, erased fearless resistances,
and put pressure on old police ordinances on costume."
--Georges Montorgueil (1857-1933), author (Gretton 119).
The first International Congress on Women's Rights was held at the 1889 Exposition
Universelle in Paris, marking the "coming of age" of the feminist movement in France
(Silverman 65). A small group of upper class women, mostly "society mothers," met to discuss
social goals that would elevate the status of women in France (Silverman 65). The Third
Republic still sought to consign women to traditional roles, emphasizing the importance ofthe
19
family and its values as a way to maintain social order. Republican leaders already had anxiety
because of the declining birth rate, and they felt threatened by the growing German population
throughout the decade following the disastrous Franco-Prussian War (Silverman 66). Jules
Simon (1814-1896), a former French statesmen and influential philosopher, summarized the
Republican view ofthe women's condition with the statement, "women, in body and character,
are planned as preparation for child bearing" (Silverman 73). As women began to rally together
for social reform, Republican leaders, doctors, and scholars sought rationales to defend
traditional perspectives of gender, often seeking medical and biological proof ofthe
"unsuitability" of women's participation in public activity (Foley 160; Silverman 70).
The women at this convention, however, understood that any threat to the Republican
ideal of family, such as a rejection of the woman's role of childrearing and comforting her
husband, would impede their cause (Foley 135). Their agenda focused on promoting egalitarian
models of Republican families and promoting the idea of women as "independent individuals,"
capable of having identities beyond, but not neglecting, their familial obligations (Foley 148).
Although the event was small, it was noted by the press and Republic officials as signaling the
rise of a generation of women who were opposed to traditional gender roles (Silverman 65).
Feminists in France took a subtle approach to reform, working within Republican mores and
focusing on "superficial" changes, such as rational dress; women did not see suffrage as a
priority, unlike women's liberation movements in other nations (Foley 148).
In Jean de PaIelogue's Femand Clement & Cie. (1894) [Fig. 4], a female model freehandedly and with bare feet, drives a men's frame safety bicycle across the backdrop of a large
20
yellow crescent moon and white shining stars. Her figure, loosely dressed in a windswept,
diaphanous gown that flutters all around, is effortlessly poised upon the seat as she is literally
"over the moon," in a state of bliss. Her breasts are only half covered by the sheer dress as she
leans backwards, tossing her head and hair to the side. With a cheerful smile on her face, she
rests her head back against her left arm, which is wildly thrown up into the air. Her right arm is
extended upwards, a red lantern hanging from a support in her right hand. The symbolism ofthe
lantern is not certain, though it may just serve as a prop to guide her as she rides.
Pal's poster is an advertisement for a men's bicycle model and its image of a partially
clothed, voluptuous female figure would immediately grab the attention of aflimeur. The
woman does not, however, appear to be an allegory; her sexual appeal alone is selling the
vehicle. Although the advertisement is oriented towards the male gaze, images of women
abandoning themselves to bicycle rides had great appeal to female cyclists, who enjoyed the
sensation ofliberation that cycling gave them. The model's state of euphoria, evident in her
carefree posture and exuberant expression, sells the idea that cycling provides a feeling of
satisfaction through being physically unrestrained. Through using a bicycle, she is
disencumbered as she metaphorically soars through the sky without limit, and as she is simply
draped in a light, flowing fabric.
Prior to the socially acceptable activity offlimerie and the invention of the bicycle,
women were not only physically confined by an existence in interior spaces, but were literally
restricted by rigid dress codes that upheld the notion of feminine modesty. Conventional attire of
the mid-19 th century included corsets, long dresses, overcoats, hats, and gloves extending up the
21
arm, past the elbow (Herlihy 138). "Exaggerated ornamentation," such as voluminous skirts,
bustles, and bows, was added to women's clothes as a way to play up femininity, but it
contributed to garment weight and became cumbersome (Foley 157). Tight corsetry, which
quickly became a symbol of feminine oppression rather than femininity, was used to emphasize
the hourglass figure "natural" to the female anatomy (Bouffard 8). Even as long skirts turned
into bloomers and the corset was abandoned, an emphasis on the distinctly feminine hourglass
figure remained (Foley 158).
Dress reform had been talked about in elite social circles for a generation, with the
wearing of baggy "Turkish" pants adopted by only some women of privilege beginning in the
1850s (Herlihy 267). With thousands of women of all classes taking to the bicycle, the issue of
women's costume was pushed like never before, making the decades long goal of more rational
dress within reach (Herlihy 267). Sitting square on the seat in order to pedal a bicycle was
nearly impossible without struggling with the bulky, long skirts of conventional dress. Tight
corsets made it difficult to lean forward and properly breathe while riding; the practice of
wearing them largely declined because they were impractical for female cyclists, not because of
the achievements of the progressing women's movement (Bouffard 26).
When faced with the question of wearing bloomers, which had already begun to appear in
more athletic environments such as women's cycling clubs, or shortening their skirts in order to
better (and more safely) ride, the average women at first favored donning a knee-length skirt
paired with stockings that covered her legs (Herlihy 270). By the mid 1890s, a period of high
production of the safety bicycle, however, scores of Parisian women rode their bicycles through
22
the city, congregating in urban parks, such as the Bois de Bologne, confidently sporting
bloomers (Herlihy 269). The bloomer, trouser-like though still retaining a feminine look,
became so popular that, by the end of the century, cycling while wearing a skirt was viewed as
"passe" (Bouffard 32). Although the adoption of bloomers proved more practical for cycling, it
sparked public debate as the garment physically ''blurred the distinction" between the sexes
(Herlihy 269). The femme nouvelle was now impossible to ignore; she controversially exhibited
her aspirations on her body in the public sphere (Foley 157).
The increasing population of professional women, or women who aspired to enrich their
lives through participation in public activity, asserted a more practical form of dress, both during
and outside of their leisure activity of cycling. The femme nouvelle had a simplified, shorter
hairstyle, reduced overall volume in her clothing through shorter skirts and bloomers made of
thinner, breathable fabrics, and had abandoned the great symbol of feminine oppression-the
corset (Bouffard 8; Foley 157). Highly visible within a female population that generally
continued to wear long dresses, her public presence aroused fears of the "loss of feminine
modesty" (Foley 161). The sight of her calves (though covered by stockings), suggested to
traditionalists a more "sexual and dangerous" independent woman was emerging (Silverman 67).
The physical appearance offemmes nouvelles was subject to endless satire, as virtually all
publications ofthe period commented on the amazones or hommesses, the "masculine" women
who inverted genders as they rode their bicycles (Silverman 63). A common satirical image of
the femme nouvelle involved a strapping, bloomer-clad woman riding a bicycle away from home,
leaving her husband standing at the door, abandoned (Silverman 67). It was the goals ofthe
23
femme nouvelle, with aspirations of fully integrating into public life, however, that posed the
greatest threat to the state's ideal of domestic women who raised children instilled with
Republican values (Foley 131). Critics ofthefemme nouvelle, such as conservative statesmen,
sought to control the "problem" by attempting to limit or discourage her use of the agent most
responsible for her transformation--the bicycle.
As the birth rate was in fact declining, it was feared that women were seeking too much
independence from the tradition as they entered educational institutions or the professional field
rather than having children (Silverman 67). These feminist actions, perceived as ''tampering
with the female identity," and thereby inverting sexual roles, were viewed as dangerous to
society (Silverman 70). The bicycle had undoubtedly contributed to a woman's sense of
liberation, but critics ofthefemme nouvelle, however, viewed that impact ofthe bicycle with
great anxiety and fear. They condemned the bicycle for encouraging "immodest" attire and
feared the long-term consequences of the presence of the ''third sex" of masculine women, on the
Republican family (Herlihy 267). Unsupervised as they rode wherever they pleased, female
cyclists were feared to be engaging in "improper liaisons," experiencing sexual pleasure with
strange men; such anxieties were "nightmare scenarios" printed as disparaging advertisements in
popular publications (Foley 162).
Even more unnerving in the mind's of critics was the "intense pleasure" that could result
from cycling, a sensation that some bicycle manufacturer's advertised as a way to catch the
attention of women seeking an enjoyable hobby (Foley 161). Images such as Pal's Fernand
Clement & Cie. [Fig. 4], clearly illustrate the euphoric feeling of cycling, with a sexual
24
connotation used simply as a marketing tool. Panic was generated from such implications,
however, as the act of pedaling was thought to produce pleasurable feelings and increase the
instance of nymphomania (Bouffard 10). If a woman was freely experiencing sexual satisfaction
without a man, it was felt that the entire foundation of traditional Republic society, based around
a woman's sexual purity, her marriage and dedication to childrearing, would become unstable
(Foley 162).
Critics also sought to condemn bicycle use through biological and medical evidence,
which had been the rationale of Republican arguments about gender roles for decades (Bouffard
11). The attempt was based on the idea that cycling was a risky activity that jeopardized the
female biological processes necessary for childbirth; to be barren in a Republic that championed
childrearing would be a disgrace (Herlihy 267). Scholars called on doctors to confirm their
presumptions of cycling causing decreased fertility rates, complications in pregnancy, hysteria,
and spinal problems (Bouffard 11; Foley 160). Though doctors of the period suggested that
women should not ride while menstruating or pregnant, and recommended a gynecological exam
prior to one's first ride, they could not rationally dissuade women from cycling (Foley 160). The
bicycle was an excellent form of overall body exercise, improving the health of an increasingly
sedentary urban popUlation; the moral anxieties of an older generation could no longer be
justified through the medical community (Foley 160; Herlihy 75).
25
Conclusion
"The Parisienne of today goes everywhere, does everything,
and is interested in all. Her life has changed completely."
--Excerpt from the feminist publication La Fronde, 1900 (Foley 163).
In Cycles Terrot 1901 [Fig. 5], Plouzeau features the Dijon bicycle manufacturer's new,
improVed chain system as a small illustration in the poster's bottom right-hand corner. The true
focal point, however, is a daring, unsupervised female cyclist riding emerging from a tunnel
ahead of a moving train. Silhouetted against the black tunnel, the woman is thoroughly afemme
nouvelle from head to toe. Wearing bloomers, leggings, mid-calf boots, and a chemise with a
scarf, she is rationally dressed for comfort in cycling, freed from the corset and long skirts that
complicated such activity while still maintaining a feminine figure with a belt cinched at her
waist. Her hair is short with a small cap upon her head, reflecting the more practical style
embraced by professional women. The woman's head is turned back at the train steaming
behind her. The male conductor can be seen leaning out of his car's window, shouting at her as
she rides in the path of the train. She responds to his anger with a sassy gesture, Ie bisquer, a
teasing flick of the fingers outward from under the chin, asserting herself as she confidently
continues to ride ahead of the train. Her right hand holds on to the center ofthe bicycle's
handlebars, guiding her as she pedals onward.
In the thirty years following the debut of the velocipede, French women emerged from
the foyer, first entering the public sphere through the entirely commercial context of department
store. Large, colorful chromolithographic advertisements courted their domestic taste, presenting
26
them with a fashionable image ofthemselves, surrounded by material goods and their comforted
families. With the mass production of the safety bicycle in the 1890s, which introduced a model
tailored to traditional feminine dress, women began to participate in public, social activities more
than ever. Their view ofthemselves, increasingly resembling that of the confident, modem
femmes de Paris of safety bicycle in advertisements, was one of physical and social liberation
The daring, playful female cyclist racing a train in the 1901 poster Cycles Terrot [Fig. 5] is an
confirms the arrival of les femmes nouvelles, who would continue to drive towards women's
liberation into the 20th century.
27
Works Cited
Abdy, Jane. The French Poster: Cheret to Cappiello. London: Studio Vista, 1969.
Arwas, Victor. Belle Epogue Posters and Graphics. New York: Rizzo1i International
Publications: 1978.
Bouffard, Konrad. The Bicycle in French Art and Society: 1890-1914. Diss. Indiana University,
1996.
Collins, Bradford R. "The Poster as Art: Jules Cheret and the Struggle for the Equality ofthe
Arts in Late Nineteenth-Century France." Design Issues. 2. Spring 1985: 41-50. JSTOR.
Ball State University Libraries, Muncie IN. 14 Mar. 2008 <http://www.jstor.org>.
Foley, Susan K. Women in France since 1789: The Meanings of Difference. New York: Palgrave
MacMillan, 2004.
Garvey, Ellen Gruber. "Reframing the Bicycle: Advertising Supported Magazines and Scorching
Women." American Quarterly. 47. Mar. 1995: 66-101. JSTOR. Ball State University
Libraries, Muncie, IN. 21 Jan. 2008 <http://www.jstor.org>.
Gretton, Tom. "The Flfmeuse in French Fin-de-siecle Posters: Advertising Images of Modern
Women in Paris." The Invisible FHlneuse?: Gender, Public Space, and Visual Culture in
Nineteenth-Century Paris. Ed. Aruna D'Souza and Tom McDonough. New York:
Manchester University Press, 2006. 113-124.
Herlihy, David. Bicycle: The History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004.
Moynahan, Brian. The French Century. Paris: Flammarion, 2007.
Schardt, Hermann. Paris 1900: Masterworks of French Poster Art. New York: Putnam, 1970.
Silverman, Debora L. Art Nouveau in Fin-de-Siecle France: Politics, Psychology, and Style.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
28
Tiersten, Lisa. Marianne in the Market: Envisioning Consumer Society in Fin-de-Sh::cle France.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
Wosk, Jule. Women and the Machine: Representations from the Spinning Wheel to the
Electronic Age. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.
29
Illustration Sources
KJA Vintage Posters, Maps, and Prints. L'Etendard Francais. 22 March 2008
<http://www.rainfall.com/posters>. Path: Search, franc;:ais.
La Belle Epoque Vintage Posters Inc. Cycles de la "M6tropole". 20 April 2008
<http://www.la-belle-epoque.com/>. Path: Online Catalog; cycles.
Vintage ArteHouse. Cycles Clement. 20 April 2008 <http://vintage.artehouse.com>. Path:
Search; bicycles.
Vintage ArteHouse. Femand Clement & Cie. 20 April 2008 <htttp:llvintage.artehouse.com>.
Path: Search; bicycles.
Vintage Poster Market Online. Cycles Terrot. 20 April 2008 <http://www.vintage-postermarket.com>.
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Figure 1: Jules Cheret l'Etendard Fran9ais 1891
Source: KJA Vintage Posters, Maps, and Prints
Figure 2: Jean de Paleologue Cycles Clement 1898
Source: Vintage ArteHouse Online
Figure 3: Lucien Baylac Cycles de fa "Metropofe" 1893
Source: La Belle Epogue Vintage Posters Inc.
Figure 4: Jean de Pah~ologue Fernand Clement & Cie. 1894
Vintage ArteHouse Online
Figure 5: Plouzeau Cycles Terral 1901
Vintage Poster Market Online